The Washington Wizards (41-33) are nearly guaranteed to finish with the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, so with their fate all-but determined, Paul Pierce got some much-needed rest while the Washington Wizards split a pair of games over the weekend.

The Truth played in both games, registering 23 minutes in a double-overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets Friday night and 22 minutes in a loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday afternoon, but he did not play after the third quarter in either game. Wizards head coach Randy Wittman simply called it a “coach’s decision” and did not offer further elaboration aside from crediting Otto Porter Jr., one of Paul’s backups, with playing quality minutes.

While it seems likely that Wittman just wants his veteran swingman rested and ready to perform in the clutch come playoff time, star point guard John Wall didn’t speculate on the matter, but did say that D.C. knows what it has in The Truth.

“We know Paul is going to give us as much as he can when he’s out there,” Wall said. “You got to ask the head coach that one. I’m just out there trying to run the team, trying to get guys shots, be aggressive, try to win games. I really don’t know the answer to that question.”

Houston Rockets v Washington Wizards

Paul did not speak to reporters after the win over Charlotte, in which he put up six points, four rebounds, two assists and three blocks, simply joking as he walked out of the locker room that reserve power forward Drew Gooden, who took on a starring role and had perhaps his best game of the season, would answer all his questions for him.

Following Sunday’s loss to Houston—in which No. 34 contributed two points, an assist, a rebound and a steal in the nationally televised affair— Paul spoke at length to The Washington Post’s Michael Lee about the state of the team.

“It’s been an up and down, roller-coaster season,” Paul said. “We’ve had our good spots and our bad spots. Right now we’re going through another rough patch. I don’t know if it’s fatigue, but everyone in the league is tired. Mental fatigue, everybody in the league is mentally fatigued. We feel like there’s no team in the NBA that we can’t beat. It’s just about believing it every night. That’s the thing. Sometimes it looks like we just don’t believe we can win. But I know we got the talent in this room to.”

Charlotte Hornets v Washington Wizards

Though the Wizards earned the victory in double overtime against the Hornets, it was a much more grueling game than it perhaps should have been. Washington led by nine after the first quarter and got the lead up to 11 early in the second, with Paul and Marcin Gortat exhibiting with some defensive intensity to set the tone.

Gortat blocked four shots in the first period while No. 34 blocked three of his own, but the Wizards couldn’t get their hands on another shot until Kevin Seraphin swatted one away in the fourth. In the meantime, Charlotte closed the gap.

The Truth came out of the game with 3:57 left in the third and did not re-enter. With No. 34 sitting on the sidelines, the Wizards appeared destined to fall yet again to an inferior team. But Rasual Butler made a desperation three-pointer with 11 seconds left, then Wall drained a midrange jumper to tie the game up in the final seconds, and the Hornets’ attempt at a final play crumbled, sending the game to overtime.

The first overtime was a jumbled mess, with each team managing just five points in the five-minute period. Despite undoubtedly being surprised by his absence from the game in the crucial minutes, Paul continued to have a presence by guiding Wall from the bench at every opportunity. Wall responded with a dominant close to the game, scoring 10 points after the end of regulation and clinching the victory, though the Hornets had countless opportunities to steal the game at the Verizon Center.

Houston Rockets v Washington Wizards

Two nights later, Paul saw a similar story unfold as he sat on the bench with the game on the line, but with MVP candidate James Harden and the Rockets (50-23) in town, the Wizards did not enjoy the same success. Porter did not play in the Charlotte game but came off the bench against Houston and gave the Wizards a spark in the fourth quarter with 13 points and five rebounds.

However fellow reserve forward Rasual Butler mustered just two points in Paul’s place and after cutting their deficit to four early in the final frame thanks to the play of Porter, the Wiz couldn’t complete the comeback.

NEXT UP

With just eight games remaining in the regular season, The Truth might continue to have his minutes limited in the coming weeks as Washington prepares for what they hope be a deep playoff run.

Two more chances for Paul to rest could come at the other end of a two-day break between games early this week. The Wizards begin the week with back-to-back off days, host the Philadelphia 76ers (18-57) on Wednesday night, then head to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks (14-60) on Friday night. Playing two fewer games and getting a week off from the grind of the NBA season could give the 17-year veteran an extra kick as he heads into yet another postseason.

Washington could also use a confidence boost and being able to win two games, regardless of the level of competition, without The Truth might bring just that. But it remains to be seen whether the Wiz opt to go that route, or have No. 34 in the lineup to try to build momentum via continuity.

Regardless, tip-off of Wednesday’s game against Philly is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET start and it can be seen locally on Comcast Sports Net.

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